MBBS student succumbs to Dengue: Medical College fined for mosquito breeding

Ahmedabad: The MK Shah Medical College has been fined Rs 50,000 after several mosquito breeding sites were discovered in the college vicinity which is said to be the reason for the death of a 17-year-old female MBBS student. The incident has triggered an alarm among parents and medical students.

The case relates to the MBBS student who was diagnosed with dengue fever. Her condition deteriorated rapidly and the student succumbed to dengue hemorrhagic fever on October 6 2019.

The incident moved other MBBS students, who stayed away from their classes to protest the alleged inattentive attitude of the medical college management to take the threat posed by mosquitoes more seriously, despite repeated requests for action on the mosquito problem on campus.

As per recent media accounts, at least 50 dengue cases were reported from the medical college campus, out of these, 40 were hostel students. It has been alleged that waterlogging due to construction in the campus was rampant, making the vicinity a fertile breeding ground for mosquitoes.

The medical college dean, Dr Rohit Modi stated that the ongoing construction work is underway to meet the Medical Council of India(MCI) norms. He reportedly claimed to have no knowledge of the dengue spread within the campus.

However, during a recent inspection of the medical college premises including the construction site at the basement and at the entrance by a team led by Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation's assistant health officer Dr Daksha Maitrak, fresh larvae were found that subsequently develop the Aedes aegypti mosquito and spread dengue. The team also found larvae in the wastewater channel in the campus.

"We fined the college Rs 50,000 and gave them a stern warning to make sure anti-vector measures are taken. We will visit them again to check on whether they have implemented the measures required," AMC medical officer Bhavin Solanki told TOI.

On the other hand, the medical college authority highlighted a large pool of water and thick vegetation in the neighbouring open plot infested with mosquitoes and stated that they have been undertaking regular fogging and spraying of insecticide oil and even keeping records. The authority alleged that despite complaining to the municipal corporation nothing has been done about it yet.